Former Duke basketball star RJ Barrett set to play for Canadian Olympic team

RJ Barrett, who now plays for the Toronto Raptors, will play for Canada in Paris this summer in the country’s first Olympics since 2000.

For the first time since 2000, Canada will play in the Olympics for men’s basketball, and former Duke star [autotag]RJ Barrett[/autotag] made the 12-man squad.

Barrett will play alongside Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, an MVP finalist from this past NBA season, and Denver Nuggets guard and 2023 NBA champion Jamal Murray. The Canadians finished third at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup to secure a spot in Paris this summer, defeating the United States in the bronze medal game.

Barrett, the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2018 and one of the highest-rated Duke commits in program history, spent just one season with the Duke basketball program in 2018-19. He, predictably, had one of the best freshman campaigns in school history, averaging 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while he and [autotag]Zion Williamson[/autotag] led the Blue Devils to the Elite Eight.

Barrett, after being the third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, spent his first four full seasons with the New York Knicks before being traded to the Toronto Raptors in the middle of last season. He’s averaged 18.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game as an NBA player.

Barrett will join [autotag]Jayson Tatum[/autotag] (United States) and [autotag]Khaman Maluach[/autotag] (South Sudan) as Blue Devils in Paris for this summer’s games.